Vintage and unique car collections days away from being auctioned off

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The Tupelo Automobile Museum has been a big attraction for nearly two decades.

Now, the collection is up for grabs to the highest bidder.

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From old cars to newer cars. From small cars to sports cars, the vehicles at the museum will soon have a new home.

“This collection, because of its diversity, the whole range of material that’s here, it really resonates with a lot of people,” said Vice President of Motoring at Bonhams Rupert Banner.

The vehicles were collected by Frank Spain and feature a few rarities like a 1983 Camarovett, which is the only one of its kind.

The museum is home to 174 automobiles.

However, one of two main highlights in the collection is a 1948 Tucker.

“We’re expecting that to make more than a million dollars,” said Banner. “There were only 51 of the cars that were made, so you’ve got a rare but desirable thing that was an influence, obviously that makes it a highlight of a collection.”

Then there’s the 1929 Duesenberg.

“We will anticipate that to go between five and six hundred thousand dollars,” Banner explained. “It was literally the greatest performance and most luxurious car of its day.”

Banner said they’ve spent the past six months working hard and gearing for this big event.

“What we try to do is we compile all of the information,” he described. “We make a very public illustrated book on the history that we can research on each of the cars. We’ve organized the lot. We’re going to sell all of the signs and all of the decorative material, that’s going to be sold on Friday. On Saturday, on the 27th, we’re going to sell all of the cars.”

With the vehicles being so unique, Banner is expecting thousands of people to come take part in the auction and there could even be a few celebrities in attendance.

“We’ll see exactly what happens, but there are various people who are associated with the hobby of collecting and using motor cars, collectible automobiles, and who knows we might see a few here,” he expressed.

All proceeds from the auction will go toward a non-profit educational foundation.